From WTOP:

A massive new sewer tunnel in Alexandria hopes to clean up the Potomac

This is, of course, a very good thing the city of Alexandria is doing.  It is also a well-written article.  But, what caught my eye the most are the facts and figures included:

“about 140 million gallons of combined sewer overflows occur each year in Alexandria...That sewage is loaded with bacteria, nitrogen and phosphorus, which impacts the water quality of the Potomac River in the Chesapeake Bay.

"The overall cost of the project is a whopping $615 million."

"[The tunnel] will bring that mixture to the wastewater treatment plant where it will be treated and then discharged into the Potomac."

140 million gallons per year!  Think about how much that is times all the other cities (like DC!) on or around the Potomac and how much all the marine toilets in the area could possibly put out.  There is no comparison.  So why are the "environmental" groups so hung up on outlawing marine treatment systems?  Aren't the goals actually the same; to treat and release sewage to protect the environment?  How is one "treat and release" better than another?  The anti-boaters will say that marine systems do not treat waste as well as municipal plants. This is a lie as the facts prove when figures are compared.  The unit I use requires the same chemical tablet that is sold by the truckload to municipal plants (I went shopping for it but don't want to order by the pallet).  The answer is both control (they LOVE telling other people what to do) and expense.  They are so hung up on control they want your poop!  Think about it; this is just one city that is taking action at a cost of $615,000,000.  What about Baltimore?  What about Annapolis?  What about Cambridge?  What are they discharging and how?  What will it cost to fix those aging, overwhelmed systems?